Sea of Thieves' Last Open Beta Is the Biggest Version of the Game Yet

Grab your shipmates and hit the open seas.

' final open beta kicks off today on Xbox One and PC, and will be the biggest version of the game that's been available before launch.

Alongside the regular exploration and Gold Hoarders faction missions available in previous test versions, players will now be able to try out Merchant Alliance voyages and Skeleton Fort attacks.

Executive producer, Joe Neate, shared details of the last beta before release, which you can download from the Store on Xbox One and PC if you'd like to dive in, although you'll need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to join the fun on console.

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The Merchant Alliance will pay players to scout for supplies, ship resources, and animals, and will mix up gameplay a bit, offering something other than the Gold Hoarders' treasure hunts.

Skeleton Forts will offer "intense, emergent" opportunities, if you spot an occupied one - indicated by a skull cloud over the location - that provides players the chance to team up or compete to earn "great rewards" at "great risk".

Console players will be pleased to discover that Xbox One X enhancements will be live for the duration of the beta, allowing for 4K output.

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As with all open betas, there may be issues at peak times. New players might have to wait to join whilst player load is managed, and those already playing might encounter issues when spending their gold in the store, but the services team will be on hand to work on any problems that arise.

There's no NDA in place either, so you can share your videos and screenshots to your heart's content.

The beta is running from today, March 9, to Sunday March 11 at 10AM GMT / 5AM ET / 2AM PT.